Zoids: New Century Graphic Novel
Zoids: New Century is a Graphic Novel (also called "comic" in the West and "manga" in Japan), based around the Zoids: New Century anime. The comic adaptation was done by Makoto Mizobuchi (story and art). The English version was done by Benjamin Wright. First published by Shogakukan, Inc. in Japan as "Zoido Shinseiki Slash Zero", it was released in English by Viz Media. This article follows the English release. The first printing was done in November 2002. Overview Vaguely based on the anime, the story is split into four chapters (also called "parts"). Each contains a single battle and features a unique CAS for the Liger Zero. Set long after the wars between the Empire and the Republic, Zoids battles have evolved into fighting competition, with massive prize money awaiting the winners. This story follows Bit Cloud and "Team Blitz", as they fight in these challenges. Meanwhile "Team Backdraft" conspire to overthrow sanctioned battles using unscrupulous methonds. Part 1 In the first chapter, Leena is kidnapped by Team Mord. They use her as a hostage to try and throw their battle against Team Blitz. Team Mord use three Atak Kats to fight against Bit and Brad's , Liger Zero and Command Wolf. Brad's Command Wolf goes down quickly, but Bit's Liger beings to act unruly. Bit struggles to prevent the Liger from fighting back, and in doing so accumulates damage. Before he could be finished off though, Jamie appears and rescues Leena. He used the Dibison to track her while they had been focused on the battle. With Leena safe, Bit quickly dispatches the remaining Zoids. Part 2 The second chapter focuses on Stoller and the Elephander. Stoller is shown to be a ruthless member of the Backdraft. Stoller rigs a battle by sabotaging all of the Zoids on Team Blitz. He succeeds in disabling most of them, and only the Liger Zero was left operational. Bit enters the battle alone, using the prototype Schneider. The CAS was not fully functional though the shield worked, but it could only manage one attack with the blades. Bit is quick forced on the defensive, as Stoller's own shield proves to be nigh on impenetrable. It is quickly revealed that Stoller had tampered with his own Zoid, modifying the Zoid Core to produce 300% output, ignoring what side-effects it would have. Noticing this, Bit charges the Elephander with his shield at maximum power. The Liger is quickly repulsed, with Elephander unharmed. However, this was exactly what Bit had planned. He managed to re-gain his footing, and immediately charged the Elephander. The modified Zoid Core of the Elephander meant it couldn't sustain such high output. Its shield vanished, and Bit was able to strike with the Schneider's "Fire Blade Storm" attack and defeat his opponent. Part 3 Team Blitz is set up against Team Poseidon in the semi-finals. Before they can fight, Storm Sworders launch an impromptu attack on the Hover Cargo. Leena and Brad sortie using the Command Wolf and Gun Sniper , while Bit uses the Jager. The Jager proves fast enough to strafe the oncoming fire. Yet the Storm Sworders (piloted by Pierce and Raid ) quickly regain the upper hand, synchronising their attacks to pin the Liger. Bit departs for a nearby cliff, leaving Raid to think he was deserting Brad and Leena. While the duo of Storm Sworders engage the Command Wolf and Gun Sniper, Bit anticipates this movements from above, standing up on the cliff face. Brad fires flares, temporarily blinding Raid, allowing Bit to jump on top of his Storm Sworder. Bit then catapults from Raid, toward Pierce. She, however, turned out to be more astute, and evades the Liger's charge. Ultimately the Liger manages to use its boosters to change trajectory mid-air, and take down the Storm Sworder. Part 4 The final chapter focuses on Altair, the leader of the Backdraft. He used the Berserk Fury to lie in wait for the finals of the competition. Here, every powerful warrior had either been previously defeated, or worn down from the continual battles. By using the fresh Berserk Fury, he was able to destroy every finalist in the competition. With no strong Zoids left, this would give the Backdraft the ability to conquer everyone. He challenges Bit to a one-on-one battle. To which Bit agrees. Bit sorties with the Panzer, and is quickly met with a Charged Particle Cannon assault. Although Bit could evade the attack, he soon realised it was not solely aimed at him. The Cannon had broken the roof of the arena, causing it to collapse above the Hover Cargo. Using the Burning Big Bang Attack, Bit saves the Hover Cargo, but is forced to eject the Panzer CAS. The impressive move stunned Altair, but didn't manage to totally save the Hover Cargo. More falling debris threatened to crush it. With no other weapons left, Bit scrambled to the top of the Hover Cargo and physically stopped the debris with the Liger's body. Partially crush, and with no way to move, Altair struck the Liger with his buster claws, before preparing a final Charged Particle Cannon assault against the Hover Cargo. However, the Liger again appears, striking the Berserk Fury and silencing it's attack. Despite heavy injuries, the Liger was still mobile. In response, the Berserk Fury fires a Charged Particle Cannon barrage, which split to strike in multiple locations. The Liger proved able to evade every attack, and Altair had pushed the Fury too far, it's continual cannon usage causing it to over heat. The Liger then closed in and defeated the Fury. Trivia * No dark judges are seen in the series * In chapter 4, the Shadow Fox is seen but not used. * There is no explanation given for the sudden change in Team Blitz' Zoids chapter-to-chapter (such as the Shadow Fox and Gun Sniper replacing the Command Wolf and Dibison). This keep track with the anime, but also introduces continuity problems (such as the Dibison not be totalled by the Elephander). * Dr. Laon is seen with the Backdraft, but is not mentioned by name. * The English version is a mirror-image of the Japanese version, to read left-to-right. * The ISBN is: 1-56931-786-0 Category:Print Media